Chronic pain in arms and shoulders - seeking advice

K

Kloan

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Trusted Member
Hey guys, been a while since I posted here. Covid fucked me over big time.. out of the gym for two years really messed with me.

Anyway, I’m back in there… but I’m having a real hard time with it. I’ve been having chronic pain in my arms and shoulders. Shoulders have been a problem for me for years, so I guess I can deal with it, but my arms are affecting everything. I’m lifting like half of what I used to, anything more than that it hurts way too much. I’ve definitely had to adjust my lifting style. It is actually affecting day to day activities.. even lifting a box hurts depending on how I’m holding it.

The pain is located where my forearms meet my biceps, on the inside…if that makes sense. Not sure exactly what that area is called. The pain feels like it’s in the muscle and/or tendons.

So im looking for some advice as to what my options are, stretches or exercises that can help with healing, supplements (I’m taking glucosamine and collagen). Should I just go see a physical therapist?
 
Well you haven’t workout in two years it’s going to take time to build it back up. It sounds like you’re straining your body by going back and lifting what you used to lift. All I can suggest is hot epsom salt bath and recover then start from small and build it up.
 
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Hey Bud. You should really go see a good physio. He/she will take you through some ROM tests to best determine what the underlying issue is. This coupled with your medical history and relevant background info will inform therapeutic strategy moving forward. Involve your doc in these discussions. Best approach IMO.
 
Annika said:
Well you haven’t workout in two years it’s going to take time to build it back up. It sounds like you’re straining your body by going back and lifting what you used to lift. All I can suggest is hot epsom salt bath and recover then start from small and build it up.
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Forgot to mention the pain in my arms (and shoulders) was there before I started back up in the gym.

But yeah…I’ll keep it light for now and see about getting some physio…it doesn’t seem like it’s going to go away on its own.
 
Start slow. Lift light, more sets. Lots of stretching... when you feel pain stop... avoid lifts that hurt... find alternatives..
Fish oil helps.
Most important lots of light warm up sets first... and wraps may help for the elbows...
Watch out for things like heavy shoulder press, dips, and things like that.
Listen to your body... massage therapy can help. A good diet and sleep also.
Good luck!
 
The Old Guy said:
Welcome back @Kloan

It sounds like tennis elbow. I’d try and see a sports RMT.
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Tennis elbow would be on the outside of the elbow.

Looks like Golfer's elbow but impossible to say for sure over the internet.

Since it's caused by tension on the forearms take some rest and do only exercise that don't involve grip work (all the push movements). Massage your forearms and try some NSAIDs
 
Could always try blood flow restriction training but for the sake of your future I'd get it all checked out by a doctor
 
Is the pain in your arms tendinitis related, if it is this could be the source of your shoulder issue as well, as stated see the doctor to be certain, but I would also suggest a percussion massage gun, Amazon has some decent ones for around 70-100 bucks, working on the tendons on either side of the forearm up the bicep into the shoulder joint as well as the pec delt tie in, I've been doing this for about 2 months now and my shoulder and elbow tendinitis is pretty well gone, I've had to scrap pull up and chin up for lat pull downs but for the sake of living pain free it was a worthy trade off, and investment in the massage gun

There's a ton of YouTube videos on where to work the tendon and how, the best attachment for this will be the flat head, good luck and I hope you get this worked out as it socks trying to lift with that pain
 
Ya go see a sports doctor. Add some turmeric to your collagen and glucosamine although I'm not sure how affective glucosamine actually is.

Could be a million things man.

During the 2 years off we're you lazy and did you do absolutely nothing as far as exercise goes? That'll cause pain most definitely. Humans are meant to move and exercise.
 
That is very common and a very common spot for this issue.
You need to not try and go heavy, at all not even once.
Use heat and ice therapy frequently and try bpc-157. I became a huge believer and fan after @Goldenrod mentioned it and gave me advice on doses. This stuff is for me a miracle in a bottle for my guts and few sore spots.
My wife suffered for a few months with exactly what you are experiencing.
6 weeks or less than n and she is great.
She had skin cancer removed from surgery and had a scar on bikini line for years and no shit, that disappeared also, not a fluke as it’s been there since 2017. Within two months can barely see the line at all.
Anyway lift light man or it will not relieve and ice and heat will definitely help.
One more amazing anti inflammatory that has only possible edits and zero negative sides is serrapeptase.
Take 240,000 mcg or whatever the measurements are, 2 pills empty stomach in the morning has amazing benefit for inflammation, which you do have
 
ironwill said:
That is very common and a very common spot for this issue.
You need to not try and go heavy, at all not even once.
Use heat and ice therapy frequently and try bpc-157. I became a huge believer and fan after @Goldenrod mentioned it and gave me advice on doses. This stuff is for me a miracle in a bottle for my guts and few sore spots.
My wife suffered for a few months with exactly what you are experiencing.
6 weeks or less than n and she is great.
She had skin cancer removed from surgery and had a scar on bikini line for years and no shit, that disappeared also, not a fluke as it’s been there since 2017. Within two months can barely see the line at all.
Anyway lift light man or it will not relieve and ice and heat will definitely help.
One more amazing anti inflammatory that has only possible edits and zero negative sides is serrapeptase.
Take 240,000 mcg or whatever the measurements are, 2 pills empty stomach in the morning has amazing benefit for inflammation, which you do have
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Bpc will help with scars? I’ll try it, I got a couple nice big ones from my colon resection.
 
Sorbate said:
Bpc will help with scars? I’ll try it, I got a couple nice big ones from my colon resection.
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I got a nice one on my face due to some asshole with a pocket knife when i was in my 20's. I beat his ass down but 20 years later, the scar is still there. Not sure if i want to inject bpc in my face tho

Hope you get this sorted Kloan. Nothing worse then injuries holding you back
 
@Kloan
Hello Sir, good to see you and sorry to here about the rough go you are having. I've posted about this in many places so Imma cut and paste from one I saved. If it seems a little off it's cause it was a response to someone else originally. It applies to both tennis elbow and golfers elbow but you might need to flex your interpretive muscles* to make the correct connection. In a more global way it actually applies to all things "tendinosis", "it" being "eccentric only(!) reps"

"VERY light (I started at 3lbs no joke) eccentric only exercises 3 sets of 15 every day for the muscles affected. *Depends on exactly what's wrong but an example would be normal or reverse DB wrist curls where you lift the DB with the empty hand and lower it for a 4 count using only the working hand. There is a tool called the Therabar that I have used that makes it simple and requires no other equipment




I could write pages on how amazing the results are sometimes with this. For about half the people I have lent mine to recovery is so fast I won't even say cause it will sound like I'm full of shit lol. Not talking about 110lb housewives either, serious athletes for the most part, one bud went from not being able to lift the milk jug out of the fridge to pain free in the gym in days, regular 4 plates on the bar type of guy.

Google some of the terms here, lots of videos out there."

AND

"Well as usual their are a lot of variables to consider in how to approach this, the most important one is correctly diagnosing the injury but yeah chilling out for a short time might be a good idea, hopefully you respond as well to eccentrics as some of the guys I know have. Other things I would look into - "flossing" Kelly Starrett has good vids on this iirc and Prescription 20% Voltaren works wonders in some cases. I use it as a preventive measure sometimes before working or working out.

But do you really want to use anti inflammatory measures? Here are two things I had bookmarked - http://www.therugbyrepublic.com/per...-corpses-recovery-tips-with-dr-kelly-starrett

The Tendonitis Cure​

Nagging joint pain - everyone deals with it at some point. But don't think a little time off is going to cure it. Be proactive to get long-term relief. Here's how.

I've not read these in a while so they may well contradict some things I've said lol, Good Luck Sir"
 
Internets been down since the storm... some great replies here, thank you. I'm going to take some time to read it all and come up with a game plan.
 
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